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DRIFT. Is British-Italian producer Nathalia Bruno, releasing music under the guise since 2015. Her 'techno-pop' EPs 'Black Devotion' and 'Genderland' released with Avant! records were the first explorations in finding the sound of DRIFT. but as the name suggests, is in constant flux. In 2020 'Symbiosis' the debut record was released on Hamburg's Tapete Records, an assemblage of lo-fi futurism reflecting on the breakdown of communication and interaction Nathalia felt was increasing around her. Channelling classic industrial electronica, haunting melodies, using samples, field recordings and curated sound as a 'canvas to rewire the vision of the future as colourful and old, ceremonial and rust beaten. A shrine like ornament and clinical machine language plaited together.'. In 2022 DRIFT. Self released 'The nature of things', a 30 minute piece entitled 'CTRL/ Algorhythm of love' written and produced for designer Mona Cordes' 'Cellusion' show for London fashion week. "_a journey into the dark heart of the dancefloor. The glimmering bass-heavy trance of its opening section could be classic Underworld, while its ambient center is genuinely Eno-esque. And then it all kicks off again as a Berlin school style banger. It's terrific" says Electronic Sound Magazine. This year, 2023 will give birth to DRIFT.'s second album released with God Unknown records '11 points In Time' written for and based on disappeared artist Rosi Crucci, compiled of sounds/field recordings recorded onto cassettes found in the attic of the home she last lived at, interpreted into song using some of her poetry and journal entries of what was happening in the world around her, attempting to finally give Rosi a voice. PRESS Louder Than War album review 'Symbiosis' (2020) "...blends passion with precision to create a tapestry of machine-made sounds that are bursting with ideas and filled with emotion. "We live in times where nothing means nothing," she sings on Visualise The Invisible. "And nothing is true." Never more so than now...Over the course of its ten tracks, Symbiosis draws from pretty much every strand of electronic music throughout its 50-year history" Shindig Magazine review 'Symbiosis' 2020 "A brilliant, fascinating album" Post Punk Magazine review 'Symbiosis' 2020 "is an exercise in disjointed meditation, a trip through the doors of the spirit lodge and inner workings of the human psyche." Pop Matters Review 'Symbiosis' 2020 "...One track in particular, "In Orbit", speaks to this new disturbing unknown we are creating. A distorted, three-note death knell drives it as repeated knocking seems to come from a dank tunnel. If it sounds bleak, it's likely also to be therapeutic and finds common ground with the entrancing industrial thud of Throbbing Gristle or Third Eye Foundation..."

For Fans Of... Thee Sacred Souls, Joey Quinones, Durand Jones & The Indications, Thee Midniters, The Altons, Trish Toledo, Sunny & The Sunliners.To say that The Sinseers play oldies would be a misnomer. Fronted by bandleader and son of East Los Angeles Joey Quiniones, the group has quietly chipped away at the sounds of R&B and soul for the last half-decade. Quinones and his crew have continuously created a distinctive vibe that explores all aspects of a timeless genre, bringing together their interpretation of music through an unmistakable modern lens. With their most recent effort, the aptly titled Sinseerly Yours (Colemine 2023), the band recorded most of the album live in the studio. With Quinones on vocals and keys, vocalist Adriana Flores, Christopher Manjarrez on bass, Francisco Floreson on guitar, Bryan Ponce on guitar and vocals, Luis Carpio on drums and vocals, saxophonists Eric Johnson and Steve Surman, and Jose Luis Jimenez on trombone, The Sinseers achieves their most fully realized sound to date. All of the album's stunning tracks were recorded in a converted studio space in Rialto, California, known as Second Hand Sounds. The converted studio space, which used to be a dentist's office, allowed the group to experiment with their sound like never before - this time, the group managed to take a series of big swings, only to emerge with a fuller, more pronounced version of themselves. Despite those new strides, the band remains wholly committed to its sonic aesthetic while injecting its brand of vibrant 21st-century cool. Of course, the group has never been the type to shy away from their influences as they expertly toggle between 60s pop vis-à-vie early Beatles records to obscure dancehall Jamaican tunes - all fully extrapolated and reinterpreted through modern Chicano soul sound that the group has built their everlasting repertoire on. Quinones and bandmates have continued to apply what they've learned from their previous releases and their relentless touring schedule throughout the country. It's clear here that the work is paying off, putting to practice their musical chops thoroughly with all members expertly honing their sound. The melting pot of ideas is showcased with incredibly lush orchestrations and arrangements, married with pitch-perfect harmonies, allowing the group to further solidify themselves in the pantheon of the Southern Californian songbook. Also Available From Thee Sinseers: What's His Name 7”, It Was Only A Dream

Taken from from Skinshape’s 8th studio album ‘Craterellus Tubaeformis’. For fans of Khruangbin, El Michels Affair, Madlib, Bonobo. Will Dorey aka Skinshape has proven himself time and again a connoisseur for the cosmopolitan, across a prolific career expertly exploring understated sounds and theatrical textures. Taking his place alongside the likes of Khruangbin, Tame Impala, Bonobo and Madlib, Skinshape’s global kaleidoscopes are loaded with warmth and wisdom created on vintage analogue equipment applying a perfectionist’s touch. As a former member of indie band Palace, he has played everywhere from Glastonbury and BBC Maida Vale to headlining Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Skinshape’s words on the tracks. The Ocean: “This one is dedicated to all the surfers out there. Following the theme of 1960s rock and combining it with subtle elements of 90s beats (that you may not be able to hear).” The Longest Shadow (feat. Andy Platts): “This song takes a more experimental route than some of the more 'psych' tracks on the album. The hot vocals of Mamas Gun frontman Andy Platts lends the track a deep soul vibe, whilst Jon Moody (of the band Franc Moody) lends his piano skills for an electric solo in the latter part of the track.” Support from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, Jazz FM, Soho Radio, MOJO, Uncut, Shindig etc.

Kendra is excited to release a new 45, featuring a special a bonus track written and recorded during the 'I Am What I'm Waiting For' sessions, as well as a new 45-edit of her instant classic 'Birthday Song.' The A-side 'Fine Right Here,' the bonus cut from Kendra Morris's brand new LP 'I Am What I'm Waiting For' (which has received incredible support from the likes of Rolling Stone France, KCRW, WNYC, Flood Magazine, and countless others), takes a look into the deeply introverted side of Kendra. "This song is about being ok just sitting inside and missing the party," Kendra explains. "It's the antithesis to FOMO." Written to accompany a rainy day, the song feels like you're being enveloped in a hug. Sonically, the track tips its hat to Ethiopian Jazz and soul of the 70s, like Rose Royce and the Delfonics. The warm vibraphone, sturdy bass line, and vocal reverb create a layered tapestry of sound that wraps around your shoulders and drifts into your ears. The new 45-edit of 'Birthday Song' is for the DJs. It's an upbeat and funky jubilant jam that's ready and waiting to take the place of outdated standards. Both tracks were co-written and produced by Torbitt Schwartz (AKA Little Shalimar) of Run the Jewels, 'Fine Right Here' is a welcome departure to the upbeat nature of 'I Am What I'm Waiting For' whereas 'Birthday Song' is set to be a celebratory go-to

2024 Repress

Introversion Created A Name For Himself With His Remarkable Debut With The First Record On The Label, The Record Is Still In Rotation Today, And Surely Will Be Part Of The Rave Scene For A Big Timespan, He Is Back With A Complete 12", Providing His Ravy Personal Sound Reminiscence To The 90's, Now More Than Ever The Artist Is Defining His Own Sound, Creating A New Window Following The Old And Good Roots.

The word Asapani is part of the artistic vocabulary of Paolo "Batà" Bianconcini, percussionist of the La Scimmia Records collective, founding member of the Circolo Psiconautico and part of the Neapolitan bands Parbleu, Funkin' Machine and Nu Genea. This ancient-sounding term is a creation of the artist, who defines it as a word of nature, but also the (italian) acronym of Listen to the Silence, Listen to the Peace, Listen to the Inner Nothingness. More than a simple term, an exhortation.

The music contained in Asapani was written and produced between 2022 and part of 2023 by Paolo “Batà” Bianconcini who together with the Circolo Psiconautico (Paolo Petrella on bass and synth, Pietro Santangelo on wind instruments and Roberto Porzio on synths) and takes shape from observation of time and the infinite possibility we have of blocking its fragments and making them our own and then sharing them in another form. The intent is to transport the listener outside of himself, through sound vibrations, during the span of four long tracks that melt into each other feeling like one singular body of work.

This album spans several genres, but at the same time is unique in its style. Spiritual jazz blended with primitive settings, achieving a sensation of sonic primitivism. The listener is projected into a circle of musicians who, sitting around a fireplace, are transported towards infinity by their internal vibrations.The research starts from the four elements of nature (water, fire, earth and air) and thus uniting and fusing with each other they make us question our existence, our depths.
As Batà himself explains, starting from the four fundamental elements in order to keep the search for the fifth element constant.

A location, Melizzano, on the western slopes of Monte Taburno, where the Batahaus stands, the physical and spiritual home of Batà, a magical place in which the Circolo Psiconautico meets, with the aim of navigating the waves of the unconscious and composing music which, through contamination and experimentation, captures the moods of the moment and projects images and colours from the inside out that speak to everyone. Like a real club, the Psiconauti come together to give each other the chance to explore together, create suggestions and get excited among friends.

Vladimir Sivc (Funky Destination a.k.a. Mr. Louie) was born on August 19, 1979 in Osijek (eastern Croatia). With dedication to the retro sound of pure funky instinct, he set out to create a wild and groovy sound with this project. Louie took his first step into the world of music by taking guitar lessons. Later he devoted himself to rock singing and playing rhythm guitar.

At the end of the 90s the move from the eastern part to the western coast of Croatia (on the Adriatic Sea). The encounter with the turntable makes him experiment working as a DJ.

Subsequently he begins to produce his own music, traveling through various styles, using house and tribal elements trying to avoid artificial sound processing as much as possible. By using live instruments, the sound remains fresh and alive, resulting in a musical product whose vibrations contain an indestructible power of movement.

He has collaborated with several European labels including IRMA Records, Timewarp Music and Sound Exhibition Records.

In this single we find two of his most famous songs in remix version: Take It Down by LTJ Xperience and Mr. Bong by himself under his pseudonym Louie. Plus the original versions of Take It Down and another of his classics Praise Me Now. While compiling these notes and preparing the release of the single for distribution, we received the terrible news of his sudden passing at just 44 years old. We are completely shocked by this news and we plan to honor him in any case by publishing this EP to which he was very attached.

"For his fourth full length album, we see the proficiency of instrumentalist and composer Prins Emanuel in full bloom as he turns head deep into the techniques he established on the preceding outing of Diagonal Musik. Here, he revisit what he refers to as a diagonal approach in composing; i.e. starting at one point and then moving to the farthest point in the process, as a way for him to connect the dots somewhere in the middle, or - like I previously described it for the liner notes of that album - “something akin to drawing only shadows and then finishing with the contours”.
And in the tradition of great sequels, this is a much larger and intricate production. While relying on the guitar as a formative backbone to many songs, the layering of brass and woodwinds houses these compositions in bold and sharply lit structures. Mallets and percussion adds an air of momentum but also grounds these tracks in earthy hues.
Thawed and gracious, Diagonal Musik II in essence creates a space that bridges the various paths of Prins Emanuel’s musical universe. At once post-minimalist and avant garde in nature while also peeking through the door at both IDM and folk music, the lingering sensation is that of a well balanced palate that doesn’t break under the presence of repetition. Enveloped in a fourth world approach to jazz and incorporating the more contemplative side of post punk or art pop, there is a story hidden in here that gives cause to the appropriation of these influences.
The inherent warmth of certain instruments play their part in this story. Emanuel often builds on the notion of ‘organic music’ but broadens the definition via subtle electronic enhancements that sit naturally alongside their acoustic counterparts. Take for instance the voice emulator sequence that opens “Kadens Tre” and is dashed on by guitar slides and flute drills to roll further down a hill of staccato percussion. A few tracks in, the lines are so blurred it becomes a natural state until the harsh and eerie sample loops of closing track “Östan Vind” finally breaks the spell. ”

A limited re-release of the very first single created by Virginia Soul Legend, Van Jones. Originally released in 1974, this release celebrates one of the most soulful, heartfelt recordings pressed onto a 7", the first step in Vans career defining his artistry & expression. The original release remains obscure due to the handful of copies known worldwide, now lovingly restored & released exclusively through Symphonical, in direct collaboration with Van Jones & Erwin Epps.

Toki Fuko – Hues Of Movement After his notable debut on
Submersive’s VA Osmotic Particles in 2021, Toki Fuko makes a
captivating return with his first solo release on the label. ‘Hues of
Movement’ comprises three original tracks and two remixes by Anthony Linell and Artefakt, embodying Submersive’s ethos of a deep, hypnotic journey into organic yet dancefloor-ready Techno. In the three original tracks, Toki Fuko once again mesmerizes with his evolving soundscapes. Electrical pulses are enhanced with expansive reverbs and woven into groovy drum sequences. The tracks gradually evolve, reminiscent of a drop of ink dispersing in water, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the sound and lose control as they become one with the music. Anthony Linell, who performed at Submersive’s inaugural party in Paris in 2017, offers a Train remix that seamlessly bridges his signature style with Toki Fuko’s sound. The track emerges like a living entity, combining dub-influenced meditative atmospheres with ecstatic elements, growing into a full-length auditory experience.
Artefakt rounds off the release with their ‘Warble’ remix, taking listeners into depths where light cannot penetrate. The Dutch duo presents a darker take, subtly manipulating elements and maintaining high tension, keeping the end of this sonic adventure tantalizingly out of sight. Accompanying the EP is artwork by Swiss-Moroccan artist Zineb Mezzour, offering a fresh interpretation of the concepts of surface and water that Submersive explores in each release. Known for her intricate work on paper and ceramics that evoke a microscopic, organic, and spiritual world, Zineb has performed a unique visual for this vinyl. She began by drawing invisible shapes in water, then brought them to life by adding ink that transformed into unpredictable fractal shapes. This artistic process was captured to create both the cover and the video teaser for the EP.

“Mother”, Logic1000’s debut album. “I felt so much love and inspiration entering into motherhood that I just needed to create something really powerful,” explains Samantha Poulter, the Berlin-based DJ and producer , who grewed up in the Sydney suburbs of Yarrawarrah and Botany Bay and better known to fans as Logic1000. “And with a lot less free time, you really make sure you make the most of any moment you get.” That vitality and renewed sense of purpose is captured on Mother.Preceded by the single ‘Grown On Me’, the 12-track set is a laser-focused “love letter to house music”, written in collaboration with her husband and long-time creative partner Thom McAlister (Cop Envy, Big Ever). Finding Poulter further fine-tuning her inventive, multi-genre approach, it’s a crucial contribution not just to the world of dance but to the canon of art inspired by parenthood. As Poulter herself puts it, a little awed, “I never thought I would be capable of something so powerful.”

Japanese jazz, rare groove masterpiece re-released on clear lime yellow color vinyl!

The pleasure of feeling numb all over your body with a single drum beat. Akira Ishikawa, the super funky drummer born in Japan, runs through a wonderland of grooves!

Akira Ishikawa is a super funky drummer born in Japan. His ability to freely explore and fuse jazz, rock, and African music to create a unique musicality has been highly praised in many fields. His career includes masterpieces from jazz rock to rare groove, but this work is especially beloved for its outstanding song selection and exciting musicality. "Let's Start" is a tight cover of Fela Kuti's Afro-funk, "Bongo Rock" is a dynamic song with drum breaks, and "Pick Up The Pieces" is a jazz-funk version of the Average White Band's classic song. It is full of amazing monster tunes that are hard to believe were recorded in 1975. Support from masters such as Kiyoshi Sugimoto, Hiromasa Suzuki, and Takeru Muraoka also shines.
text by Yusuke Ogawa (universounds/Deep Jazz Reality)

The early-mid "80s had their share of insane combos -- The Birthday Party, Black Flag and Minor Threat had the raw power to melt your mind in seconds. SWANS, Einsturzende Neubauten and Big Black created enough overwhelming sonic pressure their sounds might actually flatten you. And Sonic Youth displayed such a dizzyingly unpredictable mix of art, pop culture and violence you"d sometimes leave their shows drooling. The Buttholes shared elements with all of these groups, but added an insane psychedelic edge and a propensity for bizarre spectacle. This evolution continued on "Rembrandt Pussyhorse," which featured a set of tunes for which the Buttholes" rock-based form destruction was mixed with experimental, tape-mangling passages of many flavors. Haynes was handling all audible vocals by this point, and his mastery of post-tongue dynamism was finally in full flight. Meanwhile, their live shows became legendary examples of excess and derangement, and their music just kept getting louder and stranger and more savage. It was the diametric opposite of the hardcore scene from which it had emerged, which was heading in ever more codified and stylistically conservative directions.

Recorded on
10th March 1980 (Tracks 1, 3, 8, 9, 10)
16th March 1980 (Tracks 1, 2)
1st April 1980 (Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 9)

Produced: B.C. Gilbert : G. Lewis

Engineer: Eric Radcliffe.
Asst. Engineer: John Fryer
Recorded at Blackwing Studio

B.C. Gilbert: Voices, Guitars, Bass, Percussion, Tapes, Drums
G. Lewis: Voices, Guitars, Bass, Percussion, Tapes, Synthesiser
A.M.C.: Voice: Cruel When Complete

Floating-point re-master by Russell Haswell, August 2011
Cut at Dubplates & Mastering by Rashad Becker, August 2011

New artwork and layout: Dave Coppenhall

With the demise of the group Wire in 1980, founder members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio Dome took the ethic of "using the studio as a compositional tool" and recorded and released three Dome albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: DOME (July 1980), DOME 2 (October 1980) and DOME 3 (October 1981). A final fourth album, WILL YOU SPEAK THIS WORD: DOME IV was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in May 1983.

These albums represent some of the most beautifuly stark and above all timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early 1980s alternative music scene.

Previously issued in the out of print DOME 1-4+5 box set in 2011. Now available as standalone LP with download card.

With the demise of the group Wire in 1980, founder members Bruce Gilbert and Graham Lewis joined forces to create Dome. With the assistance of engineer Eric Radcliffe and his Blackwing Studio Dome took the ethic of »using the studio as a compositional tool« and recorded and released three Dome albums on their own label in the space of 12 months: »Dome« (July 1980), »Dome 2« (October 1980) and »Dome 3« (October 1981). A final fourth album, »Will You Speak this World: Dome 4« was released on the Norwegian Uniton label in May 1983.

These albums represent some of the most beautifuly stark and above all timeless exercises in studio experimentation from early 1980s alternative music scene.

“My heart is loud,” Julia Holter sings on her sixth album Something in the Room She Moves, following an inner pulse. The Los Angeles songwriter’s past work has often explored memory and dreamlike future, but her latest album resides more in presence: “There’s a corporeal focus, inspired by the complexity and transformability of our bodies,” Holter says. Her production choices and arrangements form a continuum of fretless electric bass pitches in counterpoint with gliding vocal melodies, while glissing Yamaha CS-60 lines entwine warm winds and reeds. “I was trying to create a world that’s fluid-sounding, waterlike, evoking the body’s internal sound world,” Holter says of her flowing harmonic universe.

“What is delicious and what is omniscient?” she sings on “Spinning”, the album’s incantatory centerpiece. “What is the circular magic I’m visiting?” Or as Holter put it: “It’s about being in the passionate state of making something: being in that moment, and what is that moment?” She found it anew on Something in the Room She Moves, singing in somatic frequencies.

“My heart is loud,” Julia Holter sings on her sixth album Something in the Room She Moves, following an inner pulse. The Los Angeles songwriter’s past work has often explored memory and dreamlike future, but her latest album resides more in presence: “There’s a corporeal focus, inspired by the complexity and transformability of our bodies,” Holter says. Her production choices and arrangements form a continuum of fretless electric bass pitches in counterpoint with gliding vocal melodies, while glissing Yamaha CS-60 lines entwine warm winds and reeds. “I was trying to create a world that’s fluid-sounding, waterlike, evoking the body’s internal sound world,” Holter says of her flowing harmonic universe.

“What is delicious and what is omniscient?” she sings on “Spinning”, the album’s incantatory centerpiece. “What is the circular magic I’m visiting?” Or as Holter put it: “It’s about being in the passionate state of making something: being in that moment, and what is that moment?” She found it anew on Something in the Room She Moves, singing in somatic frequencies.

Polycarp boss Simon Ferdinand delivers the cinematic electronica ‘Six Months’ EP in 2024, recorded across this time period and influenced by travels to Sicily, Baltimore and Zanzibar.

Hamburg, Germany’s Polycarp is the brainchild of Simon Ferdinand and has been active as a platform for the music of Simon under his own name, Basch and their music together as Bonn, as well as further notable artists such as Tilman and Johannes Albert. Here, Ferdinand returns to the imprint with another solo sonic adventure, traversing through a range of emotions and influences with elements of glitch, ambient, electro, breaks, EBM and more instilled within the project.

‘Broken’ leads the release and sets the tone through an amalgamation of hazy, glitched out jazz loops obscured and processed throughout. Title-track ‘Six Months’ then shifts towards a more ethereal deep house aesthetic with cossetting textures, stuttering synth
chords, elongated bass drones and jazzy organic drums. ‘In The Lab’ follows next and sees Basch join forces with Simon to create a haunting slice of broken beat deepness fuelled by murky low-end pulsations, saturated drums and gritty stab sequences.
First up on the flip-side is ‘The Beginning’, shifting gears towards classic electro tropes with boomy 808’s, unfurling arpeggios and twitchy resonant synth bleeps before ‘Santa Maria’ rounds out the release with a contemporary electronica feel, fusing fluttering square wave bass lines, crisp amen breaks and intricately intertwined textural elements.

Bite Down, the Merge Records debut of Rosali, finds acclaimed songwriter and guitarist Rosali Middleman in the midst of transition. Written after moving to North Carolina from her longtime home of Philadelphia, Bite Down is a searching, hungry record by an artist who is resolved to bite down on life, in all its horror and joy. She is joined here by Mowed Sound_David Nance (bass, guitar), James Schroeder (guitar, synth), Kevin Donahue (drums, percussion)_and in studio by Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois (keys). Bite Down is Rosali's second album working with Mowed Sound, and there is urgency and ambition in their collaboration_a band pushing each other not just to expand on what they've already done together, but to break through into altogether new territory. Among those joining Rosali and her band there is Dan Bejar of Destroyer, who waxes poetically on where she's been, where she's going, and how thrilling Bite Down is to experience: It's hard to talk about Rosali's music. Songs that reach outward like this, but then constantly disarm with their intimacy. What do you call such inner searching that is hellbent on rollicking? Songs that long for a sense of peace and songs that want romance, all on equal footing in the same plot of earth? Performed wild, but always centered around the incredible lyrical calm that is Rosali's voice. Bite Down makes me think about singers and bands that throw themselves hard into the storm, the way the Rosali quartet does. (Jim captures the tone of this perfectly, again!) The calm of her voice over top of the band's raging_it is the emblem of songs that live to put themselves in harm's way. But it's not harm. It's just that you have to play hard to get at these goods. The calm of Rosali's voice, the straight talk of her inner search vs. the wildness of the band, the sonic storm she rides in on. That's their sound. The Mowed Sound. It's hard to talk about these last couple Rosali albums without talking about them. They play free and wild and relentlessly melodious. They rip and create space and fill it up with what seems like reckless abandon, but listen carefully or listen for a while and you'll find them paying real close attention to each other and exactly what the song demands. Maybe Fairport did this, maybe VU. It's a strange telepathic brew. Breezier songs like "On Tonight" and "Rewind" sound like they've fought their way to get to that sense of ease. Maybe that's the Mowed Sound "sound"_hard-won ease. Then add to that Ted Bois' patented Rhodes sleaze (see sinuous title track "Bite Down") steering the record into late-night corners; the incredible "Hills on Fire" (maybe the centerpiece of the album), the guitar-ripping and the singing taking turns in reaching new levels of intimacy. It feels listened-in on, exposed and invented on the spot. It is also simply a staggeringly beautiful song. There are a few of those on the album. In contrast, "My Kind" is a raucous, hand-delivered classic; the band throws tables over. For the most part, this is a moodier record than No Medium. It has the same sound of "I've traveled through fire to deliver you these songs," but it is also quieter, more nocturnal. The quiet dread of staring down an open road, and the excitement of that. By the final track, "May It Be on Offer," it is the prayer uttered as you hand yourself over to the world.

white + blue marbled vinyl

We're excited to welcome Reeko back to Samurai Music tofollow up his perfect debut EP for us 'Confront The Serpent'.The new EP is a deeper collection of tunes, with its narrativebased on the gift of living in the moment.

"The future doesn't exist, there is only the present, from thereeveryone co-creates their reality which becomes what we call "future" but the possibilities in the present moment are infinite." Reeko

Carpet is a band from Germany with huge influences by prog rock, psychedelic music, stoner rock and jazz. It's like putting Motorpsycho, Jaga Jazzist, the Notwist and the Beatles in a studio to create new material together. After their debut "Elysian Pleasures" in 2013, which was highly appreciated by listeners and the press (e.g. album of the month, eclipsed magazine), they widened their musical spectrum on the following two albums "Secret Box" (2017) and "About Rooms and Elephants" (2018) - all released on the Colour Haze Label Elektrohasch. The path to the new album began with a songwriting weekend in a tiny, remote cottage in the Italian Alps and continued in the band's own studio and in the studio of their mixing engineer Maximilian Wörle in their hometown Augsburg. With "Collision", Carpet recorded a strong and powerful album: "Some songs and parts were created in one go, almost from the gut, and are bursting with energy. Others were worked out down to the last detail and developed into sophisticated song structures." It is certainly this perfectly dosed, precise mixture of a heavy rock attitude with sophisticated songwriting and finely balanced arrangements that in a way marks the band's DNA.

In our 20th celebration year we welcome back Loz Goddard! It’s been quite a while since we last saw him on our label. With his standout debut collab release with Harry Wolfman in 2016 he has developed a unique mix of electronica, deep soundscapes and lush organic Deep House on labels such as “Oath”, “Razor N Tape”, “Church”, “Outplay” and “Apparel Music”. Now he finally returns with a mini album that features beautiful crafted ambient and electronica cuts paired with three upbeat tracks that will for sure shake the dance floors in and outdoors this summer! Enjoy!

In his own words, here are some insights on the influences and production process of these six pieces:

The release is named after a night in the White Hotel in Salford watching Skee Mask. At the time I had a bunch of unfinished ambient ideas as a result of making “Balloon Tree Road” (out on Oath). There were a lot of ideas I still loved that didn’t get finished for that release, so I set about finishing them late 2022 & early 2023 with the view to releasing an EP or ‘mini album’ that was again angled a bit more towards home-listening.

The more upbeat tracks are newer jams that I created in 2023. I wanted to include a few club-ready tracks on the record as well, so the release appeals to DJ’s as well as home listeners. I approached the production much like my past two records on Oath, with lots of live drum elements, some sampling and a mixing approach which keeps everything sound warm and organic. It’s rough round the edges - as has been the case with my productions of late - and offers a nice contrast to my DJ sets and radio shows at the moment, in which I am playing mostly Deep/Progressive House, Breaks & Techno. There’s some influence on the title track from the Deep & Lo-Fi House sound of artists like Baltra & Mall Grab, and I have taken influence from all the breaks I’ve been playing in DJ sets for ‘How’s This for a Vague Song Title’.

All tracks mastered by Salz Mastering in Cologne. Photography & Art by Break 3000.

"Irish interdisciplinary artist Fears, aka Constance Keane, is back with her second full-length release - affinity. Following on from her critically acclaimed 2021 debut album Oíche, Fears has crafted ten self-produced tracks, drawing on human connection, intimacy, and moments of peace in a city.

Written and recorded between London, New York, and Dublin, affinity explores the relationship between her physical surroundings and the work she creates."

Affinity by Fears, released 21 March 2024.

This version of Affinity comes as a 1xLP.

The vinyl is pressed as a marble, pink disc.

MIZU’s Forest Scenes is an experimental project at its core - an exploration of the vast possibilities of the cello (as a melodic instrument, as a seed for digital manipulation, as a percussive and resonant body) within a forest of electronically synthesized sounds, found samples, and vocals. Conceived and composed primarily over the course of two inspired weeks in Summer 2022 during a visit to São Paulo, Brazil (following the completion of MIZU’s debut Distant Intervals), Forest Scenes is a journey within oneself as much as a journey into the unknowns of various woodlands and uncharted, yet-to-be-explored territories. The title, while referencing Robert Schumann's hidden gem of a piano work Waldszenen, makes no overt musical odes to its Romantic predecessor; rather, it creates an entirely new narrative and language of its own. Cinematic in composition and production, the album relishes in darkness and mystery as much as the excitements and joys of pure exploration.

The vinyl is pressed as a colour in colour, pink & red disc.

Buffalo & Detroit are America’s broken dream. They are once thriving cities, now known for frigid temperatures and violent crime. The cities were birthed in a different era, forged in fire, built of cold steel. It follows that the rawest Hiphop in recent memory has bled from these two regions. No two artists exemplify this hard truth more than legendary Detroit producer Apollo Brown and Buffalo’s maverick emcee Che’ Noir. The two artists came together to create a sound as natural as calm after the storm. The soulful, head-nodding production of Apollo Brown has been a staple called on by some of the greatest to ever do it. From Ghostface Killah to Danny Brown, and from Freddie Gibbs to Chance the Rapper, Apollo Brown’s signature style has become an iconic staple of the culture. Meanwhile, Che’ Noir has stepped onto the scene as smoothly as any double dutch veteran. Having already worked alongside Benny The Butcher, Kool G Rap, and Fred The Godson, she has emerged as one of the most extraordinary New York talents heard in years. The pair’s new album, “As God Intended”, drifts up and down city streets and offers a glimpse behind closed doors, telling the stories of gunshots, missing fathers, & playing the system. The album from Apollo Brown & Che’ Noir features Skyzoo, Blakk Soul, Planet Asia, Ty Farris, and Black Thought. Part of the Mello Music Group 24 for '24 Artist Series featuring limited edition vinyl art by oil painter KipDaFog.

As God Intended by Apollo Brown & Che' Noir, released 22 March 2024, includes the following tracks: "Hustle Don't Give (feat. Black Thought)", "Hours", "Daddy's Girl", "The Apple (feat. Planet Asia)" and more.

This version of As God Intended comes as a 1xLP.

The vinyl is pressed as a brown disc.

New York / Toronto producer Tony Price makes his Telephone Explosion debut with the Interview/Discount LP. Made up of two side-long tracks, the record is an electrifying collision of fractured jazz-concréte and combustible downtown funk that crushes the entire continuum between minimalism and maximalism into a hypnotic wreck of metropolitan sound matter. Finding inspiration in the quicksilver impressionism of modal jazz, the manic bombast of early electro-funk and the narcotic non-linearity of 1970s minimalism, Price assembled a crew of jazz-funk heavyweights and free-improv wizards and set out to create an auditory representation of the soundscapes of New York City.

400 copies purple wax! Fold Out Poster, remastered & remixed by Eroc Welcome to the definitive Vortex. The LP you're holding has been on a journey, and no, not just shipping. Mouth's second after 2009's Rhizome, Vortex was mostly recorded in 2011 and 2012 over five sessions in a small space where the band rehearsed. Material was pieced together intermittently over a period of 11 months with Chris Koller handling guitar, keys and bass and Nick Mavridis on drums. That's where it started. Two construction projects: the studio and a recording that would help define the course of the band in classic and melodic progressive rock, happening almost simultaneously in a creative meta-narrative that could easily stand as analog for the depth of pieces like "Into the Light" or the sprawling "Vortex" itself, which opens the record (new and old editions) in an encompassing display of impulse and fluidity Through experiments in atmosphere like "March of the Cyclopes" and toward the finish of "Epilogue," Mouth married sounds that in other contexts would come up disparate, like finding a hidden magnetism between two north poles. Most of the Vortex songs were created on the spot in the studio.There would be no way to know it at the time, but this process would result in a collection of songs with a broad range, within as well as between the component tracks. "Parade" taps Sly Stone on the shoulder and asks if he wants to party (he does), while the penultimate "Soon After_" resonates with its smoky, mellow-jazz vibe. "Vortex" itself happens over six movements and was put together across different sessions, while "Epilogue" happened in a day. Dissatisfaction with the original mix - and when an album has as much put into its arrangements as Vortex, that balance matters - would lead Mouth to offer Out of the Vortex in 2020 as a collection of alternate versions of pieces like "Mountain" and "Parade," as well as the unreleased "Ready" and "Homagotago's Paddle Boat Trip," the latter an apparent successor to a cut from Floating. But sometimes a thing nestles itself into the back of your head and just won't leave, and Mouth's pursuit of a finished Vortex would lead them into the studio again. Koller handled the remix himself in Oct. 2023, and in addition to helming the new master, krautrock legend Eroc (who drummed in Grobschnitt) brought a gong to mark the beginning of "March of the Cyclopes." Like a lot of the finer touches on this Vortex, be it a hashed-out stretch in the title-track built on a drum/bass jam or just pulling the vocals and Hammond down a bit in "Epilogue," the result is a stylistic flourishing that was there all along throughout the journey and now can finally shine as the band intended. - JJ Koczan / Dec. 2023

The early-mid "80s had their share of insane combos -- The Birthday Party, Black Flag and Minor Threat had the raw power to melt your mind in seconds. SWANS, Einsturzende Neubauten and Big Black created enough overwhelming sonic pressure their sounds might actually flatten you. And Sonic Youth displayed such a dizzyingly unpredictable mix of art, pop culture and violence you"d sometimes leave their shows drooling. The Buttholes shared elements with all of these groups, but added an insane psychedelic edge and a propensity for bizarre spectacle. By the time they started touring to preview and then support the revamped version of "Psychic...Powerless... Another Man"s Sac," the Buttholes" live show was a berserk, evolving extravaganza of strobes, smoke, clothespins, naked dancing, bullhorns, raving lunacy and music that was as madly mind-blowing as that of any band who ever lived. "Another Man"s Sac" was also wildly advanced over the previous records. Parts of the LP swaddled their punk edge inside so much oink and babble you almost couldn"t discern it, with other segments stretching out into a mutant form of garage blues, and others just swirling out of control.

96kHz - 48-bit HD Audio with digital booklet including original photography by Christopher Kayfield and liner notes by Shaun Brady.

Pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Billy Hart reunite for a second, scintillating trio date, BRIDGES, featuring original compositions by Hays and Hart with classics by Wayne Shorter, Bill Frisell, The Beatles, and Milton Nascimento.

Hays Street Hart, the trio of pianist Kevin Hays, bassist Ben Street, and legendary drummer Billy Hart, recorded their acclaimed 2021 debut, ALL THINGS ARE, under less than optimal conditions. The album began life as a performance in honor of Hart’s 80th birthday in December 2020, live-streamed from an empty Smoke Jazz Club in the final weeks of that grueling pandemic year. Despite those adversities, the music they created that night was spectacular enough to convince all involved that it should be released.

Two years later, the trio has reconvened, this time fully cognizant that they were going to record an album at Sear Sound Studios in NYC. The captivating BRIDGES brilliantly spotlights the unique chemistry and shared spirit of exploration that emerged fully formed on that initial impromptu session. The title succinctly hints at some of the reasons why Hays, Street and Hart work so well together: this is a trio that bridges generations, certainly, as well as a wealth of diverse experience and inspiration. But it also sums up a mutual desire to bring people together through music.

“In this world that seems to be crumbling beneath our feet,” Hays explains, “we sense the need to make allies where there might be adversaries. On the most intimate level, interpersonally and inter-psychically we set out to overcome any number of misunderstandings and adversarial situations.”

Not that there was any antagonism to overcome within the trio itself. More than anything, Hays Street Hart is a mutual admiration society of the highest order. The esteem in which the pianist and bassist hold Billy Hart likely goes without saying. The drummer was ordained in 2022 as an NEA Jazz Master, just one of the many honors he has chalked up over a breathtaking career. He began his career with an apprenticeship under the revered vocalist Shirley Horn and went on to make notable music with such luminaries as Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, and as part of the quartet Quest featuring David Liebman and Richie Beirach.

But Hart is if anything, even more laudatory toward his younger bandmates. Street has been a member of the drummer’s stellar quartet for two decades, alongside pianist Ethan Iverson and saxophonist Mark Turner, a tenure that speaks for itself. As for Hays, Hart is quick to place the pianist in the exalted company of some of his iconic former collaborators.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have the chance to perform with Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner,” says Hart modestly. “Each generation presents their own equivalent, and Kevin is an example of the latest innovations. There was Herbie and McCoy, then it was Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, and then you have what's coming next. I think Kevin is definitely part of that continuum.”

Though Hays sticks strictly to the piano on BRIDGES, he is also an accomplished singer whose vocal instincts fuel his inventive and lyrical melodicism. Street points to those facets as key to the connection between the pianist and Hart, who has enjoyed several meaningful collaborations with vocalists.

“It always seems to me that Kevin has the capacity to sing in his mind and then accompany himself on the piano,” Street describes. “That makes for such a nice connection with Billy, who has played with and learned from so many singers. I don't even feel like we're playing as a piano trio most of the time; it feels more like a quartet.”

Those qualities are especially clear on Hays’ “Butterfly,” which opens the album. Though it’s performed here as an instrumental, the pianist has composed lyrics for the piece, and its gorgeous, song-like quality shines through. Hays also contributed the breathtaking ballad “Song for Peace,” highlighted by Hart’s gentle, embracing brushwork and Street’s sturdy, stentorian tone. The pianist’s third original, “Row Row Row,” is constructed on a twelve-tone row, but as the playful title suggests, it has none of the more stringent qualities of the serialist composers.

Hart’s stunning “Irah,” originally recorded on his quartet’s self-titled 2006 debut, is dedicated to the composer’s mother and was recorded at Street’s suggestion. The bassist also brought guitarist Bill Frisell’s reflective “Throughout” to the date, imagining Frisell’s Americana influences would resonate with the similarly inclined Hays, who approaches the tune with a harp-like beauty. Hays’ love of pop and rock music is also reflected by the inclusion of The Beatles classic “With a Little Help from My Friends.”

The trio pays tribute to the late, great Wayne Shorter with “Capricorn,” originally released on the composer’s 1969 Blue Note album SUPER NOVA and later included on the Miles Davis Quintet set WATER BABIES. Hart called Shorter one of a kind. I think of the many times I heard him excel – with the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, with Weather Report. And in each case, he was innovative.”

BRIDGES closes with the title track, a dazzling piece by the great Brazilian singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento, which Hays calls “one of my favorite compositions ever, by anybody.”

BRIDGES was recorded under ideal studio conditions by a now-established trio with a weeks-long European tour under their belts. Perhaps what’s most remarkable about the album is not that Hays, Street, and Hart play so masterfully together – with three artists of their caliber, who could expect any less? – but that this second outing maintains the bold spirit of inquisitiveness and spontaneity that its predecessor naturally possessed. Credit that to a trio perpetually determined to discover new bridges worth building.

Based on David Nicholls’ globally best-selling book, the TV serialisation of One Day has already proved hugely popular with audiences and critics alike.

Multi award-winning screenwriter Nicole Taylor (Wild Rose, 3 Girls, The Nest) adapted the novel for Drama Republic and Netflix.

The story follows Emma (Ambika Mod - This is Going To Hurt) and Dexter (Leo Woodall - The White Lotus) who speak for the first time on their graduation day in 1988.

They go their separate ways but meet once a year on the anniversary as their relationship and lives evolve.



“We wanted to create a score that celebrates the love story between Dex and Em and also reflects the nostalgia for lost time and lost love that they feel, and viewers can relate to.

The music had to follow their journey as their relationship evolves over the years, but still feel like it was rooted in one place.

In other words, we needed to mirror the very different lives and emotions they experience over twenty years ranging from excitement, humour, anger and heartbreak.”

Composers Anne Nikitin, Jessica Jones, Tim Morrish



The score also features tracks from Jessica and Tim under their artist moniker Vanbur, widely acclaimed in their own right, including ‘Last Look’ and ‘Falling Colour’.

United States Of Islam is the second part in a series of 4 outstanding double vinyl albums with bonus songs, previously released on CD between 1990 and 1994 on the Australian cult label Extreme Music. Armed with a cleverly provocative title, USoI showcases a moodier side of Muslimgauze. While the trademark blend of driving percussions and minimalism reigns supreme as always, the general feel is much more dreamy and mysterious than on some of Bryn Jones’ more forthright pieces.

The original tracks were perfectly remastered for this first time ever vinyl release and the new masters received high praise from the Extreme Music owner Roger Richards.

New sleeve designs were created by Oleg Galay, who is famous for his artworks for many Muslimgauze reissues. All 4 album covers are made from extra heavy cardboard with deluxe spot UV finish and inside print.

After nearly 14 years The Hope Conspiracy have emerged from their bunker to a reality entangled by this unwavering truth. Since their last release (True Nihilist, 2009) members have been active in a multitude of bands; All Pigs Must Die, Hesitation Wounds, Lies, Paint It Black, Spiral Heads, Ways Away and more. Efforts in the above may have kept them musically sharp, but it was the pressures and stresses
of our present day dystopia that awoke The Hope Conspiracy. Serving as the catalyst for some of the most vicious songs they have ever created in their legendary career. Four song EP by The Hope Conspiracy, engineered by Kurt Ballou and Zach Weeks at God City Studios

The first-ever best of of Nim Vind is called Anthology 1 and is released by Sunny Bastards Records! This collection of audio medicinals created in a UFO vibrating in the Key of NV is guaranteed to blow your mind. Experience the energy and indulge in some Halloween candy with Nim Vind's 180-gram Vinyl album. This collection includes Nim Vind's most popular tracks from regular albums Fashion Of Fear, Stillness Illness & Saturday Night Seance Songs, along with some special versions or tracks that have never been released before. Nim Vind was introduced to Europe through Zillo Magazine and the Goth club "Pagan Love Songs". This led to the release of his first album, "Fashion of Fear", on Fiendforce Records Germany. The album was recognized by Metal Hammer UK, Maximum Rock n Roll and many other magazines that support underground artists. Rue Morgue Magazine (the world's biggest Horror Entertainment Print magazine) selected Nim's album "Saturday Night Seance Songs" as the Album of the Year. He has shared stages with the likes of Gary Numan, Filter, Blitzkid, The 69 Eyes, Todd Kerns (Slash with Miles Kennedy and the Conspirators), Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, and many more. The album kicks off with NV classic "Killing Saturday Night", which has garnered 1.7 million plays on Spotify and more than 330,000 views on YouTube. The collection attempts to showcase some of the songs that have been a part of his story, bringing us up-to-date with his current work. If you're a Horrorpunk, Goth, Post-Punk, Rock N Roll or Alternative collector, this collection is a must-have! Vinyl only compilation, for fans of MISFITS, JERRY ONLY, CHRIMSON GHOSTS, BLITZKID, THE OTHER.

Enid Valu normally relies on lenses and light to express herself. Known to create stunning visuals, to capture sonic worlds with her preferred instrument (the camera), the US-born, Munich-based photographer and video artist has been working with various bands, shooting concerts, creating music videos, visualizing what she hears. However, now that she’s become an indispensable part of the local scene, she for once ditches the cam and steps up to the mic instead – appearing as featured vocalist on two of the four brand-new covers Hochzeitskapelle recorded for the forthcoming EP entitled “We Dance.”

“It’s later than you think,” she reminds us, just like Stephen Malkmus once did in Pavement’s “We Dance” – beautifully rearranged and reworked some three decades later. Also musing about “Stockholm Syndrome,” just like Yo La Tengo’s bass player James McNews did back then, this new Hochzeitskapelle interpretation is obviously less reminiscent of Neil Young, if compared to the original take. Instead, their Yo La Tengo cover feels almost like a song recorded by The Notwist – which, interestingly enough, is not because two of The Notwist’s core members also play in Hochzeitskapelle. Nope, it’s the vibe of Enid Valu’s guest vocals that somehow points in that direction.

As for the two remaining cover choices, it’s all-instrumental business as usual. For Low’s classic “Silver Rider,” it’s the banjo that does Alan Sparhawk’s vocal part, whereas the trombone soon joins in, contributing Mimi Parker’s second vocal layer as the tune unfolds. Eventually adding a German song to the mix – Wir Sind Helden’s “Elefant” –, it’s an EP that comprises four beautiful half-forgotten indie classics that Hochzeitskapelle reworks, adding the group’s unique, charmingly handmade/oddball “Rumpeljazz” trademark. One can immediately tell how much they love the original tracks: these are recordings, done by fans and admirers who aren’t even trying to sound much like the musicians who wrote them. However, the new versions are so compelling in their own right, they make you want to revisit the original tracks as well… (Dirk Wagner)

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

tapetopia 015 The name L’Ambassadeur des Ombres goes back to the
French science fiction comic “Valérian et Laureline”. The Ambassadors of the Shadows combined pop appeal and experimentation as the soundtrack to the zero hour of their generation in the GDR’s waning days. The music was made in a children’s room, but the edifice of ideas was a demolition site. L’Ambassadeur des Ombres existed as a hybrid of the wave bands Die Vision and Neuntage. The open ensemble’s family tree can however be traced back to buried DIY projects such as the Mahlsdorfer Wohnstuben Orchester, Zerstörte Umwelt and dark-wave protagonists Fellini Prostitutes or Nontoxic. In the short time of their existence in 1988/89, L’Ambassadeur des Ombres did not give a single concert. The tape “Strike Me If I Shriek” was circulated among friends and musicians only as an on-request work report – it’s a long overdue discovery. The tapetopia series, using the original layouts and track lists, publishes cassette editions from the GDR underground of the 1980s, especially from the “walled-in” scene in East Berlin. More than three decades after their initial “release”, most of these tapes have yet to be heard on either vinyl or CD, even though they made an audible mark in the canon of GDR subculture. Despite the tiny original editions of the time, many of the bands were considered cult in countercultural circles, which made them highly suspect in informed circles.

Repress!

Presenting a collection of deep spatial gems mined from the ever impressive TK Disco vaults for your playback listening pleasure!

The TK Disco music empire has blessed our ears and minds with an endless stream of music since it's late 1960's inception. Countless soul and funk sides were produced, cut and released by label founder Henry Stone and his associates, in turn changing the face of contemporary black music in the USA and across the world forever. It is true that the TK story originated on America's 'Space Coast', the modern frontier of lunar exploration and galactic travel, the home of NASA and countless missions beyond the stars nestled on the East Coast of the United States.

'Moon Ride' - The compilation you hold in your hands, is merely one strand of the incredible music that was beamed out of Hialeah, FL over the decades. The focus on this collection is the idea of the 'cosmic' from the Disco era. These are records that emit a spacey vibe, either from their lyrical content or equally from their sonic qualities, imbibing synths and electronics to create otherworldly grooves. These records were big hits on underground music scenes such as Daniele Baldelli's cosmic movement in the 70's and 80's in Lake Garda, they were vehicles of escapism and hedonism on the discerning dancefloors of NYC in the hands of progressive DJs like David Mancuso and Nicky Siano and they were also essential building blocks in the creation of House and Techno music in the Midwestern cities of Chicago and Detroit, inspiring legendary artists such as Mr Fingers and Jeff Mills and countless others. An essential collection of music for listening, dancing, loving and travelling!

TK Disco's influence is still felt today and this carefully curated selection of tracks showcases some absolute classics, overlooked nuggets and rarities from the label's huge output. Mastered with love by Optimum Mastering, Bristol UK. Brought to you by TK Disco / Henry Stone Music & Above Board Distribution 2021.

At the same time that Neville 'Bunny Wailer' Livingston recorded his debut solo long playing masterpiece, 'Blackheart Man', he was also creating a series of singles for his own Solomonic label. These records were every bit as good, at times even better, but they have never been released outside of Jamaica. Until now...,

It is next to impossible to ever overstate the importance of The Wailers to the history of Jamaican music and, as the last surviving member of the group, Bunny Wailer rightly regards himself as the sole keeper of their history ever mindful of the group's exalted position in the story of reggae music and the importance of their legacy. In 2010 Dub Store were proud to be able to work with Bunny on re-releasing a selection of his earliest recordings for the Solomonic label, lovingly restored and presented in reproduction sleeves and labels, on limited edition seven and twelve inch singles. Now, taking another step forward, we are more than proud to present Bunny's timeless music on two beautifully packaged CD's and double LP's. Bunny's first solo album, 'Blackheart Man' originally released in 1976 on his own Solomonic label in Jamaica and on Island in the UK, is one of the undisputed all time classics of Jamaican music and established Bunny Wailer as a highly respected, world renowned artist in his own right. During this period Bunny also produced a series of singles released in Jamaica and the UK in strictly limited quantities without the benefit of international distribution, that are every bit as good and, in some cases, even better than this awesome debut long player. Original copies have subsequently become highly prized, and highly priced, collector's items. "Classic rarities" is an overused and abused term too often employed to describe average records that failed to sell on their initial release but both 'Tread Along' and 'Rise & Shine' are packed from beginning to end with a searing selection of some of the greatest and hardest to find reggae records ever produced. 'Tread Along' opens, naturally enough, with 'Tread Along' from 1969, one of the last singles for The Wailers' own Wail N Soul M label, and runs through the first release on the Solomonic label, 'Searching For Love' also known as 'Search For I', 'Bide Up' released as 1974 drew to a close, a radical reworking of 'Pass It On' and a marked contrast to the version on The Wailers' 'Burnin'', album, 'Life Line' and the prophetic 'Arabs Oil Weapon' kept the pressure on as Bunny began outlining the flawless 'Blackheart Man' album. Each release was a certified classic in its own right. Peter Tosh's melodica version to Bunny's 'Amagideon' ('Armageddon'), the first track on 'Rise & Shine', is followed by 'Love Fire', an update of another Wail N Soul M track, 'Fire Fire'/'Babylon Burning', through to one of the deepest roots records ever created, 'Rise & Shine', on to 'Riding' from the 'Bunny Wailer Sings The Wailers' sessions (but not featured on the album) and a huge hit in the UK in 1981, and closing with 'Rule Dance Hall' from 1985. No idle boast..., The liner notes feature the story of The Wailers, as told to Dub Store by Bunny himself in Kingston in an enlightening 2012 interview, and rarely seen contemporary photographs complete these essential releases. The music of Bunny Wailer was not only a medium for change and protest but also to elucidate and educate and 'Tread Along' and 'Rise & Shine' finally complete the canon of un-compiled Wailers music. "I'm quite satisfied, you know, reggae music is the kind of music that although sometimes you would look at it and say..., boy, it's hard..., then again you look at what it has done for the people of the world you know that that couldn't be locked up in a little place like Jamaica!" Bunny Wailer

Berlin, 20 August 2023 – In a world where music serves as a gateway to explore the intricate dance between reality and imagination, Shkoon, the innovative germany-syrian musical group, presents their newest single, "Al-Furat." This release is a captivating addition to their upcoming album, a collection that masterfully blurs the lines between the tangible and the ethereal. Its the first single of their 10 Track Album being released on 16st of November followed by a big concert tour.
"Al-Furat" is not merely a song; it's a satirical exploration of life's complex game. With a wink to the audience, the song invites listeners to look beyond its surface and decipher the layers of meaning hidden within. At the heart of it, "Al-Furat" beckons the audience to find what resonates with them, to uncover the deeper messages that lie beneath the harmonies and rhythms.
A Harmonious Blend of Emotions
Crafted with a touch of irony, "Al-Furat" humorously contrasts the declarations of love for one's homeland with the journey of Ameen, the protagonist, as he navigates the game-like challenges to reach France. It's a juxtaposition of joy and sorrow, presented through cheerful melodies and thought-provoking lyrics. This blend of emotions adds depth to the song, making it not just a musical piece but a thought-provoking experience.

Blurring the Boundaries
Shkoon doesn't stop at melodies and lyrics; they expertly play with boundaries. The video showcases Thorben crossing borders with a French baguette, a clever visual metaphor that challenges stereotypes. The inclusion of French demonstrations further blurs the lines between art and reality. It's a deliberate move that asks the audience to question their perceptions and assumptions.

Art with a Message
As with their previous works, Shkoon's "Al-Furat" carries a hidden message—a critique and commentary on societal norms and expectations. It's a call to look beyond the surface, to recognize the dual nature of art as both entertainment and a mirror to society. Shkoon's ability to weave such messages into their work is a testament to their artistry and depth.

The Album
After Rima (2019) some singles, EP’s and their touching live album “FIRAQ” (2022) Shkoon is coming up with another concept album “Masrahiya” which is arabic and stands for theater play. Shkoon created a strong message again, with a diverse piece of art combined with an album concert tour.

This play 'Masrahiya' delves deep into the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction, where the lines of truth and imagination intertwine like a mesmerizing dance. As the three captivating chapters unfold, tragedy, politics, and irony are seamlessly woven together, creating a tapestry of emotions that leaves the audience spellbound.5

Cardinal Fuzz and Little Cloud Records bring to you the new LP from a band we hold dear, Firefriend – ‘Decreation Facts’ – From São Paulo in Brazil and now close to two decades of creating and honing what has become their trademark, a heavy reverb, minimalistic slow-burn menace which sends chills down your bones. If you don't know Firefriend from somewhere along the last decade, you must cut a safe course through music. ‘Decreation’ is the undoing of creation, something destructive and primal and that Firefriend carry through on all the twelve songs written for this LP. Yury explained that the album "is a commentary on our 21st century, so violent and radical. We live in times of accelerated transformation. We wrote and recorded this album between the pandemic and WW3 – times of ground-breaking changes – and somehow that uneasy feeling got into our songs. Reality is the most crazy trip, isn it? And we are always trying to explore new territories: we want a new album to take you to new places, so we were chasing the sounds, structures and moods to make this a truly new album to match this wild new world’ ‘Decreation Facts’ is all this as they simply inject you with a liquid paranoia for their dark conjuring’s that is hugely dark and foreboding – Julia and Yury’s uber cool stoned and detached delivery creates a seriously dark menace with Julia’s delivery having echoes of Nico – all the while THAT claustrophobic reverb and tremolo encloses and swirls around the inside of your head and vibrates your inner core. This is HEAVY shit. Decreation Facts’ is an unsettling sonic fuck you to those that seek to destroy this planet for their love of money and power and we think it is a stunning achievement. As Terence McKenna might once have said – ‘Firefriend should be consumed alone, in the dark, in silence, with your eyes closed’. Firefriend advises, “Express yourself through any method you want. That is how you become a transmitter, generating waves that will open connections with others vibrating on the same frequencies. That energy field will change the game.” Now that is a truly psychedelic perspective if there ever was one. RCKNRLL, FUZZ, FEED YOUR HEAD